1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of processing meat, more particularly, a method of processing poultry meat using vacuum tumbling prior to injecting the meat with a brine solution.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Consumers typically purchase meat products after making judgments about the quality of the meat and the price of the meat. Among other things, the aesthetic appearance, including the color of the meat and the texture of meat, contributes to the perceived quality of the meat. When meat contains blood spots and/or is pale, soft, and exudative (“PSE”) meat, this negatively affects the perceived quality of the meat.
It is known that when the pH in meat is low and the temperature of the meat remains high, protein denaturation results and the meat becomes pale and exudative. To prevent/limit the occurrence of PSE meat, either the temperature of the meat must be lowered rapidly or the pH decline must be slowed. PSE meat results in a tremendous economic loss for the meat. Blood spots in the meat and/or PSE meat tend to be seasonal issues in processing meat such as turkey meat. Therefore, it is desirous to process meat in such a way to, prevent the appearance of blood spots and/or to discourage the onset of PSE meat.
Although there are processes that include the use of vacuum tumbling for various reasons, these processes do not result in the same effect or address the issues of concern. U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,704 discloses a process for treating meat to raise myosin protein to the surface of the meat and to increase the absorption of fluid or additives by first crushing and mashing the meat and then simultaneously shaking and tumbling the meat while keeping the meat refrigerated and under a vacuum.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,053 discloses a process for treating meat, preferably the muscles of swine having water contained within themselves. The muscles are placed in a container, and a vacuum is applied within the container to lower the temperature at which water boils so that the water within the muscles boils. The vacuum also results in raising myosin protein to the surface of the meat, which improves the product moisture retention, muscle surface cohesion, and ultimately the finished product quality. The meat is also agitated by tumbling within the container. The vapor inside the cavity from the boiled water is exhausted, and both cooling and massaging of the meat by the vacuum is created.